Stories from the Winds of Hillwood
by darkestangel1326
Summary: Belated Valentine's Day new story! A different chapter will focus on a different romantic pairing! Let's see how mushy and romantic this writer can get! Read to see what's in store! :D


**A/N: Hello everyone! :D**

**Here's my (belated) Valentine's Day present to all my lovely readers! It's a new story called "Stories from the Winds of Hillwood". Unlike KLIYH (I have the chapter 6 draft in my flashdrive, and I will send it to Lyco soon!), "Stories from the Winds of Hillwood" is going to have a different romantic pairing for every chapter, so it will be a different drabble per chapter. **

**This chapter will focus on: GeraldxPhoebe!**

**DISCLAIMER (Oh how I missed writing one of these!) : Hey Arnold! in no way, shape, or form, belongs to me. The characters and trademark should be credited to the original source (which is not me). However, this drabble, and the idea behind it, are mine! **

* * *

It was his one shot. He knew everything would rest on the execution of this moment. This one moment he had been planning ever since the start of this new school year.

His palms moistened in nervous anticipation as he parked the car. He turned to his companion, who was blindfolded, and took a quiet, yet very deep, breath.

_I can do this_, he thought. _It's my only chance._

* * *

"That's what you get for moving to California," he teased.

He heard her laughter resonate from the other side of the phone call, and felt light-hearted.

"I agree that although the ultimate goal of moving across the country was to receive a renowned degree from UCLA, my estimations of holiday travel, tuition, housing expenses, internships, jobs and financial aid did not come out as expected. Of course, other variable reasons for wanting to travel back, including reminiscing about our childhood days and play in the snow, were not the certain things I thought I'd ever miss."

Gerald sighed lightly. It was their Senior Year of College, and Phoebe wasn't able to return to Hillwood in all that time. She was always busy with something, or never had enough money accumulated to visit. It made him feel irrelevant in her life. What was the point of being with a person who is doing so many more things than you? Won't you just slow them down? Won't you always end up keeping them from their true potential? Even if they keep repeating you aren't holding them back, won't you always think you are?

These thoughts taunted him often, challenging him to do something, _anything_, to come to a solid decision.

"...but I'll finally be able to come back!" Phoebe squealed in delight.

"You're really coming back?" he quickly asked.

"Yes. I'm quite excited to see everyone again! I've missed everyone so much...especially you," she said excitedly, speaking softer during the latter statement.

"I've missed you too Pheebs."

There was a silence in the air; one between two lovers dreaming of filling an inconceivable gap between them.

"Do you know when you're coming back?" Gerald asked.

"Valentine's Day weekend."

"You're really coming back?"

"Yes, Gerald. I already have my roundtrip plane tickets. My Supervisor encouraged me to take some time off, and, as of yesterday, things have been quiet in the labs. All the major experiments are done, the only thing left to do is data entry."

"And what about cost? How could you afford the tickets?"

"Gerald."

"Yeah?"

"I _am_ coming this year."

"How do I know for sure?"

"Because, Gerald, I really need to see you."

* * *

"Gerald? Where exactly are we going?"

He held the sleeve of her blue sweater and guided the blindfolded girl ahead.

"Don't worry. You'll see."

* * *

"Is it because you feel responsible to see me?"

"What are you implying?"

"I'm not _implying_ anything. I'm just saying what we both know is true. I'm holding you back from doing everything. I'm keeping you far from your potential."

"Gerald?!"

"I have nothing to offer you Pheebs. You're doing better without me."

Silence filled the call.

"...How long have you thought this?" Phoebe ventured.

"So long I can't even remember when I started thinking like this," Gerald admitted.

"Do you love me?" Phoebe suddenly asked.

"..."

"Gerald? Do you love me?" she asked again, this time, fearing the answer.

* * *

"Hmmm...there's more warmth near my ankles than anywhere else. There's no water, and there's no discernable scent."

"You're trying to guess where we are in Hillwood," he stated.

"You've left me with no other alternative," she responded.

Gerald chuckled.

"Ok, then I'll show you. We're almost there, any way."

He stepped behind her and undid his tidy knot on the handkerchief. The cloth fell from her eyes, and she opened them slowly.

* * *

"More than anything I know. That's why I don't want to be the thing that holds you back."

The words hung in the air like an unsettling fog, repeating in the mind of the petite girl.

_ That's why I don't want to be the thing that holds you back. That's why I don't want to be the thing that holds you back. That's why I don't want to be the thing that holds you back._

"Gerald," she began. "You are not holding me back. You are pushing me forward. You are always there to give me support, when I need it. You tell me to reach for the stars, and I do, because I know those are the same stars you look at every night. Most of all, you are there for me when I feel like a failure; when I wanted to throw everything away and go back to Hillwood before finishing the journey I started."

She paused and took a breath.

"I need to see you because I love you, I want to be with you, and because I miss you."

* * *

It was a trail, with a blanket of snow on top, to give everything a solid white color. And on every rock, there was a small, white candle burning, illuminating a path towards the last stop.

To Phoebe, the trail was everything she missed about winter. The small, white candles she had all around in her house during Christmas time, the white, powdery chunks of snow, she and her classmates used to play with during the winter.

"You did this?" Phoebe asked, lost in the beauty of it.

"For you," Gerald said. He held Phoebe's hand and gave it a small squeeze.

"But we need to keep going. This isn't the only thing I brought you here to see."

Phoebe nodded and they continued walking the lit path before them.

* * *

"What if you change your mind? What if, one day, you wake up to go to a job you hate and being stuck nowhere with me when your research could've won a Nobel Prize or something."

"Gerald, that's not going to happen," Phoebe stated firmly.

"How do you know? How can you be sure?"

"Because you want me to do great things. Because you've understood previous holidays where I was busy with my internships or with school or with work. Because you want me to do well. Don't you see? You won't hold me back; you, yourself, will make sure of that.

"That's what's so great about us. We're different, to an extent. But these differences, although at first glance, may seem detrimental to our relationship, are what makes us stronger. We do not have to have everything in common to function; we just have to have enough in common to keep our emotions present and unwavering.

"That's what we are, Gerald; complimentary pieces of the same puzzle."

He let the words sink in, and wash away the daunting fog that had haunted him. For the first time, in a long time, he could see clearly.

_I really do fit into her life. _

* * *

She absorbed the surroundings as she walked along, memorizing the placement of each stone and candle. She silently inhaled the winter frost that clung to shrubbery, finding the scent vaguely familiar.

Distracted by her surroundings, Phoebe bumped into Gerald.

"We're here."

* * *

"He seems sincere," Reba said.

"I agree. He has the eyes of a warrior who will protect his family," Kyo responded.

Reba nodded. She had seen the warrior, who was patiently sitting in their living room, grow up. She'd seen him enough times to read his intentions from his expressions; mostly his eyes.

There were times she wasn't sure if he was serious about his relationship with Phoebe, long term. Of course he loved her; it was obvious whenever he looked at one of her pictures, which hung around the house. But a long-term commitment? When it came to that stuff, he was still just a child.

But this time was different.

"If we refuse this time, he'll keep coming back until he gets an affirmative answer," Kyo said, looked at Gerald's profile.

"I think he's ready," Reba said, as she put a hand on her husband's shoulder.

* * *

The clearing had candles around the edges, forming a circle filled with snow. Above their heads, the stars shone brightly in the sky, announcing their presence.

In the middle of the clearing stood a telescope, completely set up and point a certain degree.

"It's hard to see stars in LA at night, right? I thought you'd like to see them too," Gerald said.

Phoebe, stunned by this gesture, silently walked ahead and staring at the sky.

"They're beautiful Gerald! I can't believe I forgot how bright natural starlight is! Oh Gerald, thank you so much!" She ran towards him and embraced him, unable to fully express herself with words.

He hugged her back and smiled. _So far, so good._

"There's one last thing I want to show you," Gerald began.

Phoebe looked up at him, a sweet smile on her face.

"Does it have to do with the telescope?" she asked, enthused.

Gerald nodded and guided her towards it.

* * *

"I gotta say, that's definitely a novel way to go about things," the astronomer on the other line chuckled.

Gerald chuckled too. "Yeah, I'm trying to be creative."

"You realize that someone else is going to find out what that star's called and will use it in the future, right Mr. Johanssen?" the astronomer continued.

"It doesn't matter. I just want to use it first," Gerald replied.

* * *

"Oh my! The flickering red and blue hues coming from this star are spectacular! It must have a high concentration of copper, perhaps lithium or even-"

Gerald chuckled. "I'm glad you like it. It's yours."

He pulled out the folded paperwork from the inside of his jacket pocket.

"You bought me a star?" Phoebe replied, giddily tip-toeing to get the paperwork.

"Yup," Gerald said, holding the paperwork away from the petite girl.

"What is it called?" Phoebe asked smiling, extending her arms to reach for the paperwork.

_It's now or never_, he thought.

Gerald looked down at Phoebe's glimmering brown eyes with his heart welling in sincerity. "It's called 'Will you marry me?'"

Phoebe blinked once in confusion. "What did you say?"

Gerald gulped lightly and he kneeled down in front of her. Phoebe stepped back, unsure of what was happening.

"Will you marry me?" Gerald repeated, with every emotion he held in his heart pour onto his words.

Phoebe, with her mouth covered by her small hands, felt her glasses fog up.

"Yes," she squeaked.

Gerald smiled and they kissed.

_Now, whenever you reach for a star, I'll be there to help you, _he thought.

* * *

**A/N: There ya go! Sorry if Gerald seems a bit OOC but I do want to say that I find his vulnerability valid, in this context. I think if he hadn't see Phoebe in a long time, but knew she was doing so many things without him being with her, he would start to question if he was keeping her from her true potential. Gerald loves Phoebe so much he doesn't want to be the reason she has to hold off on being a Nobel Prize winner or anything. **

**And, I think Phoebe, with Helga being her best friend and all, would become a bit more poetic in word choice, and have to reassure Gerald that he would never hold her back from anything because he doesn't want to do so. **

**Maybe this idea only makes sense in my head Q_Q, but it makes sense to me. **

**Anyway, I hope you all had a good Valentine's Day and I hope to have an update of KLIYH up soon ^_^**

**And please please PLEASE read and review! *Cute adorable puppy dog/kitten eyes*  
**

**I know I'm rusty to fanfiction writing now (since I haven't done it in a very long time) so any and all advice would be welcomed!**

**~DA1326**


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